


Enlighten me

by squire



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Eli is smart, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Questionable Chiss headcanons, Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 04:12:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12335250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squire/pseuds/squire
Summary: Eli Vanto doesn't like to lose every time he challenges Thrawn to a round of unarmed combat. Though all the odds are in Thrawn's favour - size, strength, skill and strategic thinking - there is, as Eli knows, no such thing as an unbeatable hand.





	Enlighten me

**Author's Note:**

> You're welcome to play the game of "spot the Thrawn novel references".

Sparring was never something Eli disliked per se. He enjoyed the exertion, the rush of adrenaline and the way focusing on the motions and staying in the moment made his head feel lighter, his whole mind cleansed, free of doubts, expectations and frustration. He liked the slight soreness of his limbs after a good fight, loved the temporary equality of opponents on the training mat: no rank, no chain of command ruled here. People left their personas with their uniforms in the locker room, and if Eli wished, he could kick an Admiral’s ass without repercussions.

Which was exactly why he couldn’t quite enjoy sparring lessons the way he used to: he would love to win against Thrawn. Just once. Once would do.

Realistically, Eli knew the odds. The chances of winning a round of unarmed combat against Thrawn were so low that Eli was sure he would run out of decimal places trying to write them down. The Chiss had Sith knew what training under his belt from his time of youth, then he took to the Imperial training like a Mon Calamari to water, further expanded his abilities by going through nearly every private dojo on Coruscant (on what Eli suspected was only a pretext of an investigation) and last but not least, kept himself in enviable shape by training with kriffing sentry droids, no less.

And even if Thrawn wasn’t so well trained, he was just too damn smart. What he couldn’t do by muscle memory alone, his magnificent mind executed even faster. Analysing his opponent, breaking down their strategy to the finest pieces, unerringly identifying every flaw and utilizing them in a brutally efficient fashion - that was just what Thrawn did. On the battlefield, and on the sparring mat as well.

But what Thrawn also used to say? There was no such thing as an unbeatable hand. If Eli couldn’t win either by strength alone, skill or strategy, there had to be yet another way. He just had to find it.

It’s taken him days - weeks of accumulated bruises and even more bruised ego and mounting frustration before he figured it out. How do you beat someone who has fight in their nature?

By turning their nature against them. 

 

*

 

Admiral Thrawn was in his office when his datapad pinged with a notification that Lt. Commander Vanto has booked another training session with him after the end of the shift.

Thrawn found himself smiling as he tapped his confirmation. By all accounts he should have been disappointed at Vanto’s inability to perceive his continuous failure. Persistence was only commendable when it could actually get you somewhere. But instead of being annoyed, Thrawn was quite fond of Eli’s stubbornness.

He was also curious how long it would take Eli to realise the real reason behind his efforts. It’s become fairly obvious to Thrawn sometime around the fourth week of their regular sessions but as far, Eli seemed to be completely oblivious to his own motivations.

Well. Thrawn was nothing if not patient. 

 

*

 

Eli carefully finished setting up his trap and then even more carefully wiped all the evidence of him ever being near the training facilities environmental settings. His plan was a literal shot in the dark but he was confident it would work, even though only once. But once was all Eli needed.

He smirked to himself. Thrawn would never see that coming. 

 

*

 

Something about Eli was off today. Thrawn narrowed his eyes at him. He was going through his warm-up stretches, already in his training gear, neck and arms bare. Human usually gave off considerable heat compared to the Chiss, more so if they blushed, which Eli did a lot in Thrawn’s proximity, lately. But today Eli’s exposed skin seemed cold to Thrawn’s eyes.

“Are you feeling alright? Perhaps you shouldn’t be exercising if you are coming down with something.”

Eli just rolled his shoulders and shook out his arms. “I spent last four hours in the secondary engines compartment overseeing the coolant refueling,” he said. “Maintenance took down all unnecessary systems to prevent any sparking accidents. I’m going to have words with whoever thought heating was unnecessary.” He rubbed his hands together. “Anyway, I think a bit of sparring will warm me back up in no time, Sir.”

“Then I am happy to be of assistance,” Thrawn nodded slightly and assumed his customary position at one end of the mat.

It was obvious from the start that the game Eli was playing today was one of stalling. Perhaps he really was stiff from the long hours spent in less than comfortable temperature but more likely he was biding his time. Waiting for something. Contrary to his words about warming up, Eli’s movements were sparse and guarded, circling Thrawn in a wide berth and focusing on his own defence more than on getting through Thrawn’s. This timid strategy was in sharp contrast with his rather poorly hidden excitement. Eli was very confident about something, it shone through the cracks of his put-upon harmless facade, and further highlighted the trap.

Thrawn hid a smirk. This was a new development and not an unwelcome one. He enjoyed their combat trainings but they tended to lack a real challenge.

He kept his findings to himself, intending to lull Eli into a false sense of security. People who felt secured became comfortable, and those comfortable enough became careless.

They both still waited to get a good hit at the other when Thrawn’s ears caught an odd electric buzz, followed by a loud crack in the ceiling. In a split second, Thrawn caught the expression of anticipation - not surprise - on Eli’s face, and then the whole room plunged into darkness.

That was it? Surely Eli knew that the dark would impair a Human more than a Chiss. The range of wavelengths the Chiss could see extended into the infrared and they had keener hearing as well. Eli’s sparring shoes were especially squeaky on the plastic surface of the mat…

Except that Eli was apparently still so cold from his freezing shift that Thrawn’s eyes weren’t able to see him at all. Thrawn mentally added him a point of credit. Carefully premeditated strategies weren’t in Eli’s nature but he was learning.

Thrawn took two quick and silent steps away from the place Eli had seen him last before the lights went out. He kept his breathing shallow and his footsteps quiet, projecting the room layout in front of his mind’s eye and ears straining to catch the tiny squeak of soles, a rustle of clothing, a louder breath - anything that would give away from which direction the attack would come.

The room was far from silent, as he soon realised. There was a background noise that he barely was aware of on normal days - the ever present hum of engines, distant clanking of boxes in the cargo bays, muted scream of thrusters as the TIE patrols took off or landed back in the hangars.  _ Chimaera _ was buzzing with action on any given hour of the cycle. Nevertheless, Thrawn was sure he’d be able to hear Eli’s steps even over all this noise. His opponent must have been keeping still, waiting and listening as well.

To his surprise, Thrawn could feel his heart beating faster. This situation was hardly a challenge yet - he had trained with a blindfold before - but there was something about not being able to see that appealed to the baser instincts of every sentient being.

Fighting it would distract him. He embraced it instead. They were in the dark, they could fight like the beasts of the dark. Somewhere close to his right hand there should be a wall, and on it, the training weapons waiting in their mounts: staffs, batons, dull-edged sabers. He took another step to the right and nearly tripped over something - something soft, lying discarded on the floor.

Quickly, he patted it down, holding his breath, listening. A shoe - and another one, a little further to the right. Eli’s training shoes with the squeaky soles.

Something close to alarm woke in the back of Thrawn’s head. Eli could be anywhere, most likely following him more closely than Thrawn would have thought possible. He rose from his crouch and turned, senses on alert. The wall with the weapons he sought had to be very close now. He could hear the footsteps of the patrols walking through the corridor behind it.

Hand outstretched and waiting for contact with the wall, Thrawn sneaked forward. Another set of thudding heavy boots behind the wall - and then something, much more near. In this very room. The softest rustle, just at the edge of his hearing - and then nothing, again. Another piece of the trap.

If Eli was waiting for him by the wall, counting on Thrawn’s attempt to get a weapon, then Thrawn’s best choice was to spring the trap. He would get his weapon in the process.

He jumped in the direction he last heard the odd sound, both hands ready to grasp at - nothing. His palms hit the wall, nails scratching across the wooden paneled surface in his momentary loss of balance. His fingers encountered something smooth and hard - the end of a training staff. He unhooked it from its place and assumed a defensive stance with his back to the wall, swinging the staff in front of him to get a feel of it. Long enough.

He stilled again, the staff held across his body. The odd sound was back. Thrawn tightened his fingers on the wood - and the next thing he knew, he was pulled down, the unexpectedly sharp tug at his staff propelling him towards the floor before he could let go of it.

His elbows connected with the floor, hard. He tried to roll but the staff he chose was now being used against him, laid across his tangled arms and keeping him pinned to the floor. He tried to kick but another body landed on his back, one knee jammed beneath his ribs and pushing the air out of him on a loud cough.

Thrawn bucked and trashed but Eli’s balance was good. Thrawn still kept on trying to throw him off just to cover the sound of one of his arms freed from under the staff and sneaking across the mat for the shoe he knew had to be somewhere near. If he could swing it just right, with luck it would hit Eli on the head and disorient him enough to–

“Ah ah,” Eli’s voice tutted above him and the shoe was plucked out of Thrawn’s fingers as soon as they touched it.

Thrawn went very still.

“You can see,” he said at last.

It was the only explanation - both for the unerring yank on his staff and for the shoe, picked up without groping for it first. Above him, Eli huffed out a short laugh.

“Yeah, I can,” he said, a little breathless. His Wild Space accent was always more pronounced when he was agitated or frustrated. Thrawn wondered which one was it now.

“You didn’t have night vision goggles on you before the lights went out.” Eli’s outfit wouldn’t hide such a gadget, Thrawn was certain of it.

“I have no such thing and I can see just fine,” Eli giggled. “For example, I can see an Admiral who just lost.”

“Apparently so, yes,” Thrawn admitted and then shifted. Pleased with the acceptance of defeat, Eli obligingly began to rise. As soon as the weight from his lower back was lifted, Thrawn rolled onto his back and grabbed Eli's sides, pulling him back down.

Eli stiffened but didn't fight the entrapment. The ribs under Thrawn’s hands expanded and constricted a little faster, though.

Thrawn gazed up into the space where Eli's eyes should have been but couldn't discern anything, no glow of electronics and no gleam of natural night vision, like the eye of a feline. Everything was the same shade of black.

“Funny,” Eli muttered after a moment. His voice sounded strained, almost embarrassed. “Your eyes don't glow in this light.”

Chiss eyes were glowing red under the longer wavelengths. If Eli couldn’t see any luminescence but still spoke about light it meant–

“I wasn’t aware Humans could see ultraviolet light.”

Again, that short breathless laugh, a spasm of muscles beneath his fingers. “We can’t. But there’s a little margin between what you can’t see anymore and I still can. Five nanometres wide band, I’d guess, no more. I just, erm, programmed the lights in this room to switch into that.”

Thrawn was impressed. During all his time in the Imperial space, everyone always accepted the fact that his eyes were sensitive to infrared without question. Nobody ever wondered if the expansion on one side of the spectrum wasn’t accompanied by an equal shortage on the other.

“How did you know it would work?”

“Once I had my theory, I tested it.” Now Eli sounded proud of himself, and also a little smug. “During your last inspection of the TIEs, I had a laser pen. I pointed it on your datapad while you took notes after everyone left. You didn’t seem to notice a thing.”

“You also willingly risked severe hypothermia so I wouldn’t be able to detect your body heat.”

Thrawn rubbed his fingers against the chilly skin of Eli’s bare upper arms. A suppressed shiver ran through the body he held snugly against his own. Thrawn could feel it where they were pressed against each other, heat spreading from the point of contact, almost unbearable in comparison.

“How did you think of it?”

Eli stopped fidgeting and seemed almost relaxed now, the tension in his muscles disappearing. If every move up to now had been a part of a game, perhaps Eli finally accepted its rules.

“You always told me I was limited by my Imperial training,” he said. “It’s taken me awhile to realise that no matter how much I improved my technique, I would always lose as long as I fought you as if  _ you were an Imperial too _ . You aren’t. You don’t have the typical Imperial weaknesses. You have the weaknesses of the Chiss. I just had to find one.”

“Which you did. I am impressed.”

Silence settled over them, heavy and brief. Eli cleared his throat and made to get up. Thrawn tightened his hold on him.

“Commander. You just achieved a victory. One which is not likely to be repeated–” and Eli laughed at that. At the confidence in Thrawn’s voice, as he, even lying flat on his back, dictated the conditions, “–but a valuable one nonetheless. You may ask a prize.”

“Really?” Eli’s voice rose to a higher pitch than usual. “What kind of a prize?”

“You just taught me a vital piece of knowledge about my own limitations. Such service calls for a reward. You may ask whatever is within my power to give.”

“You would just give me a carte blanche?”

Thrawn regretted he couldn’t see Eli’s face and had to rely on the nuances of his voice. Fortunately, he had years of practice analysing even the slightest break and shift of it. Right now, Eli sounded distrustful. Seemingly uninterested. And beneath it all, Thrawn could hear a hidden hope.

“You once told me that Admirals were the ones who could do as they pleased,” Thrawn reminded him of the time right after their graduation, when Eli was still dismayed over the loss of his supply officer career track. “It would please me to fulfill a wish of yours. An extended leave to visit home? My recommendation to another promotion? You name it, Commander Vanto.”

“I don’t–” the protest fell as quickly as it rose. Eli tensed again, barely breathing. In the background hum of the ship sounds around the room, Thrawn could almost hear his thoughts.

“Could you–”came a stuttered whisper, as Eli corrected himself, trying and failing to sound confident, “–would you close your eyes?”

“I already can’t see anything,” Thrawn pointed out.

“But I can,” Eli breathed again, much closer this time. “And for what I want, it would be better. Trust me?”

That was a question that deserved only one possible answer. Thrawn closed his eyes and lifted his head, meeting Eli’s mouth halfway in a kiss. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me for more Star Wars nonsense on my [ Tumblr. ](http://sinningsquire.tumblr.com)


End file.
